My oldest son's fourth birthday was tonight. We had a great time watching him play with his new toys - his favorite was a toy Winchester Rifle. He didn't even want to part with it to open other presents. Some things never change, and cycles repeat. Less than 30 years ago, that boy was me.

The conversation among the adults centered around inflation and increasing government control, and we talked a lot about Gold and Silver. A year ago, only one person besides me thought gold and silver (physical) was a good investment. Today, several more agreed. However, when I tried to talk about mining stocks, no one thought they were a good idea but me. "I don't trust the stock market." "The market's falling". "Stocks aren't real wealth." That sort of thing.

Then you look at the cheer monkeys on CNBC - they hate gold, they just won't admit it. They will give gold the time of day since, after all, it has more than tripled since 2001, but (yawn) can't we talk about tech stocks or the financials some more? Isn't the rebound just around the corner?

This little mine that Jim is trying to build is so far from the mainstream. We have a long, long way to go before this thing explodes into the public consciousness. And, by the time it's obvious, the real money will have been made long ago by the patient investors, the Sitting Bulls, the Seekers, the Puzzlemen, the Dynamos. So, gentlemen and ladies of the Board, here's to you: a glass of ice cold sprite from my son's four year old Birthday party! You've earned it for still being here.